Some people are expecting a commercial development on the Santa Fe Indian School campus similar to what has been done at the old Albuquerque Indian School campus.

But the Santa Fe campus faces different hurdles than the one in Albuquerque, where a Holiday Inn recently opened.

Last summer, 15 buildings — some dating from the 1800s — were razed on the part of the Santa Fe campus fronting Cerrillos Road, to the dismay of historic preservationists.

Santa Fe Indian School officials initially said the buildings were destroyed because they contained asbestos and would have been too expensive to rehabilitate. New classrooms, dorms and other buildings recently were completed on the back side of the campus.

In March, the school cut dozens of trees, some of them more than a half century old, leaving the old campus littered with stumps. School officials so far have declined to say what they plan to do with the area, though two development plans have surfaced for a hotel and retail shops.

School officials maintain the campus, opened in 1885, is not subject to municipal, county or state jurisdiction.

The All Indian Pueblo Council, made up of governors from the 19 New Mexico pueblos, took over operations of the school in 1975 from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

In 2000, Congress turned over the 115-acre campus to the council, requiring that it be used for "educational, health or cultural purposes."

After the Albuquerque Indian School closed in 1982, Congress turned its 46-acre campus north of Interstate 40 over to the council. An additional 9 acres along 12th Street were turned over to the council late last year.

As in the case of the Santa Fe campus, Congress banned "gaming" on the sites, but otherwise gave the council greater leeway on the Albuquerque campus — allowing "educational, health, cultural, business or economic development."

Bruce Sanchez, president of the Indian Pueblos Federal Development Corp., a for-profit arm of the All Indian Pueblo Council, said the broader language allowed the Albuquerque campus to be used for several BIA buildings plus the new 6,400-square-foot, 108-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites.

In the near future, he said, he hopes to see restaurants, dry cleaners, flower shops, bookstores and other commercial development there, plus more federal government buildings.

But Sanchez, who is governor of Santa Ana Pueblo, said development of the Santa Fe property might be hindered because Congress limited its use to educational, health or cultural purposes, and did not mention business or economic development.

Sanchez said Santa Fe Indian School officials aren't sure what they can do with the campus because of the limitations. "There are so many variables," he said. "One is that there is particular language that doesn't allow you to do certain things. ... You've got to follow those parameters. How do you interpret what education is? How do you interpret what health is? That's going to be the big question."

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.